Flintlock 8 pointer in the rain...

[roundball]

Not the biggest 8 pointer in the world but I’d sat in the woods for 5 days and was tired of letting deer walk...it was raining when I left the house but I kept the lock up under my rain jacket like normal and refreshed the prime periodically.

The woods had been dead quiet except for the rain then I heard a muzzleloader way off in the distance...checked my watch and it was 2:30pm...couple minutes later heard another boom off in the distance in a different direction...and not 5 minutes after that heard a 3rd muzzleloader go off in the distance from a different direction. I had no sooner begun wondering if this might be one of those “major activity” time slots when I caught movement through the trees way off on my left and here comes this 8 pointer.

He was on a line that would cross left to right in front of me at about 50 yards. I set the trigger and slipped off the stall and when he got out in front I whistled but he came to a stop behind trees...he started walking again, I whistled again, and again he came to a stop behind trees...I had one fairly open alley left and knew I would have to shoot him while he was walking...he started again and as soon as I saw him clear the tree I touched the set trigger...in spite of all the rain, when I needed the Flintlock to do its thing, ignition was instantaneous and down he went.

8-Pointer right at 50yds, T/C Hawken Flintlock/.62cal GM smoothbore, rifled by Ed Rayle
100grns Goex 2F/Oxyoke wad/.020” pillow ticking/Eddie Mayes .600” ball